1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to restaurant booth seats, and more specifically, to a plastic restaurant booth seat having a unique construction.
2. Prior Art
The use of plastic materials in the construction of chairs and the like is well known. Such material has been found to be long lasting, relatively inexpensive, and provides the user with sufficient comfort. These factors have lead to the use of plastic in the construction of chairs having a wide variety of shapes and sizes. For example, Pershing (U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,259) discloses a vehicle seat which is comprised of three layers of different foams. The upper and lower layers are made of a polyurathane foam and the center layer is made up of a polyethelene foam. Such plastic foams are of a low density and produce a vehicle seat having a very flexible and "foamy" type feeling. These type of foams thus give the user a cushioned effect and have therefore found special utility in vehicles which are subject to intense vibrations. However, it is known that this type of flexible foam material does not stand up well to continued use and is especially vulnerable to abuse such as puncture, cutting and the like. While such flexible foams may be useful in vehicle construction, where rigidity would provide the user with an uncomfortable ride, manufacture of a chair from such materials, especially in a commercial setting, would not be acceptable because of the likelihood of damage.
Another prior art chair is disclosed by Shirakawa (U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,967). In Shirakawa, a chair is disclosed which has a cushioning material made of foam plastic and a covering material also made of plastic. As discussed hereinabove, the use of such cushioning material while providing the user with a great deal of comfort, tends to break down in a commercial setting where such chair would be subject to continuous and extensive use.
The problem of using flexible foam core seats with a flexible covering is recognized in the art. For example, in buses such flexible foam seats were originally used, but today most buses have switched to the use of fiber glass reinforced seats. These type of hard seats are not subject to cutting and the like; however, they too possess a number of shortcomings. One problem is that fiber reinforced seats are expensive to make and require complex machinery to achieve a smooth exterior surface. Moreover, such chairs are extremely hard and tend to be so uncomfortable that their use, especially in a restaurant is many times not acceptable.
The plastic chairs and seats of the prior art also possess another shortcoming. This relates to the specific design. For example, these chairs or seats if used in a restaurant setting would not prevent liquids and the like accidentally spilled from running off the chair and onto the floor. Such accidental spills and the like are a problem in a restaurant, not only from a health point of view (liquids on the floor attract flies and bugs), but also pose a potential problem in terms of patrons of the restaurant accidentally slipping on the liquids before clean-up can be effected. Finally, a chair or seat used in the restaurant must be capable of long periods of continued use and yet must still provide the user with sufficient comfort such that the meal can be eaten from a comfortable sitting position. However, the chair cannot be so comfortable so as to encourage the patrons to spend an undue amount of time in the booth seat, thereby preventing others from use of the same.
The present invention provides an answer to the above-identified problem associated with prior art chairs and seats, and contains none of the foregoing problems associated therewith. The booth seat of the present invention also has a unique shape which encourages liquids, crumbs and the like to proceed into an area from which they can be easily removed.